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| Taxing questions for the chancellor to consider | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| How is “helping low-income families to save” a measure to help the “just about managing” (Hammond told to help families ‘just managing’, 18 November)? On a low income you don’t have money to save. With low savings rates, saving doesn’t confer much benefit. On a modestly good income when I was young, it was very difficult to save the amount recommended for my pension. | How is “helping low-income families to save” a measure to help the “just about managing” (Hammond told to help families ‘just managing’, 18 November)? On a low income you don’t have money to save. With low savings rates, saving doesn’t confer much benefit. On a modestly good income when I was young, it was very difficult to save the amount recommended for my pension. |
| Our politicians should have experience of the real world. Maybe we should raise the age to become an MP and insist on demonstrating experience of working in a public sector. Going from a privileged background, studying politics and then entering parliament is not a recipe for a fairer society and understanding the problems of the disadvantaged. | Our politicians should have experience of the real world. Maybe we should raise the age to become an MP and insist on demonstrating experience of working in a public sector. Going from a privileged background, studying politics and then entering parliament is not a recipe for a fairer society and understanding the problems of the disadvantaged. |
| Short-term gains to companies in off-shoring and outsourcing jobs, leaves us with failing public services; an outsourcer has to make a profit, resulting in lesser-quality services. People cannot swap work sectors easily. Our education system has in the main lagged behind science and technology. No chance of employment in their sphere of experience and inadequate retraining leads to an increase in reliance on benefits, a fall in the tax take and lesser income to buy the products and services that help to make a healthy economy. The outcome of these policies and the sale of assets will come back to bite us once the capital from the sale has been exhausted and the loss of income and tax revenues is felt. Beware the day when our power and wealth is shown to be all smoke and mirrors.Sue Allen-ShepherdTiptree, Essex | Short-term gains to companies in off-shoring and outsourcing jobs, leaves us with failing public services; an outsourcer has to make a profit, resulting in lesser-quality services. People cannot swap work sectors easily. Our education system has in the main lagged behind science and technology. No chance of employment in their sphere of experience and inadequate retraining leads to an increase in reliance on benefits, a fall in the tax take and lesser income to buy the products and services that help to make a healthy economy. The outcome of these policies and the sale of assets will come back to bite us once the capital from the sale has been exhausted and the loss of income and tax revenues is felt. Beware the day when our power and wealth is shown to be all smoke and mirrors.Sue Allen-ShepherdTiptree, Essex |
| • We should be mortified that the UK ranks at the bottom of teenage literacy league tables among 23 developed nations. Our economic success hinges on a workforce with advanced skills, yet we are failing to develop basic literacy skills among young people. Public libraries provide everyone with equal opportunities to develop a love of reading, access books and develop vital literacy skills. Local economies receive £5 for £1 invested in library services. Yet since 2010, more than 340 libraries have closed and a quarter of librarians have lost their jobs. Addressing the UK’s literacy and skills crisis is critical in order to deliver economic growth and provide greater equality of opportunities and improved life chances for all. We call on the chancellor in the autumn statement to provide local authorities with emergency relief funding for public libraries on a needs-assessed basis as a matter of urgency.John Bird Crossbench, House of Lords, Jeremy Beecham Labour, Nicholas Trench Crossbench, Sheila Hollins Crossbench, Jenny Jones Green, Frank Judd Labour, Kath Pinnock Lib Dem, Graham Tope Lib Dem | • We should be mortified that the UK ranks at the bottom of teenage literacy league tables among 23 developed nations. Our economic success hinges on a workforce with advanced skills, yet we are failing to develop basic literacy skills among young people. Public libraries provide everyone with equal opportunities to develop a love of reading, access books and develop vital literacy skills. Local economies receive £5 for £1 invested in library services. Yet since 2010, more than 340 libraries have closed and a quarter of librarians have lost their jobs. Addressing the UK’s literacy and skills crisis is critical in order to deliver economic growth and provide greater equality of opportunities and improved life chances for all. We call on the chancellor in the autumn statement to provide local authorities with emergency relief funding for public libraries on a needs-assessed basis as a matter of urgency.John Bird Crossbench, House of Lords, Jeremy Beecham Labour, Nicholas Trench Crossbench, Sheila Hollins Crossbench, Jenny Jones Green, Frank Judd Labour, Kath Pinnock Lib Dem, Graham Tope Lib Dem |
| • I read with interest Patrick Collinson’s article on stamp duty (Money, 19 November). While I can understand the sentiment of why we should not be concerned about stamp duty as it only really affects those with properties worth over £1m, one needs to understand that such high rates are providing a huge disincentive to buy at the top end of the market. Yes, this is leading to price falls at the higher end of the London market but the falls are severely curtailed by the fact that there is a lack of incentive to sell. | • I read with interest Patrick Collinson’s article on stamp duty (Money, 19 November). While I can understand the sentiment of why we should not be concerned about stamp duty as it only really affects those with properties worth over £1m, one needs to understand that such high rates are providing a huge disincentive to buy at the top end of the market. Yes, this is leading to price falls at the higher end of the London market but the falls are severely curtailed by the fact that there is a lack of incentive to sell. |
| To say this will not affect the lower end of the market is shortsighted. If the person who is fortunate enough to be able to trade up from a £2m house to a £5m cannot bring themselves to pay stamp duty, their £2m house will not be available for the person trading up from a £1m house and so on. | To say this will not affect the lower end of the market is shortsighted. If the person who is fortunate enough to be able to trade up from a £2m house to a £5m cannot bring themselves to pay stamp duty, their £2m house will not be available for the person trading up from a £1m house and so on. |
| Contrary to your article, I would urge Philip Hammond to review the current rates. If there is a desire to keep prices at the top end of the market subdued, alternatives should be investigated. Abolition of capital gains tax relief above a gain of say £250,000 or a mansion tax would seem to be ways of curtailing market growth while producing an incentive to sell rather than simply a disincentive to buy.Andrew SymingtonManaging director, Symington Elvery | Contrary to your article, I would urge Philip Hammond to review the current rates. If there is a desire to keep prices at the top end of the market subdued, alternatives should be investigated. Abolition of capital gains tax relief above a gain of say £250,000 or a mansion tax would seem to be ways of curtailing market growth while producing an incentive to sell rather than simply a disincentive to buy.Andrew SymingtonManaging director, Symington Elvery |
| • Am I the only one to notice that the fiscal measures supposedly aimed at “Jams” (Easing austerity: Options for Hammond, 21 November) – air passenger duty cut, freeze on fuel duty, increased personal tax allowance, increased Isa limits – in fact benefit the better off as much if not more? The only measure mentioned that seems to be targeted at the low paid, increasing the national insurance threshold, is also the only one that has a caveat: “would cost the Treasury billions”.Chris GeorgeSeaford, East Sussex | • Am I the only one to notice that the fiscal measures supposedly aimed at “Jams” (Easing austerity: Options for Hammond, 21 November) – air passenger duty cut, freeze on fuel duty, increased personal tax allowance, increased Isa limits – in fact benefit the better off as much if not more? The only measure mentioned that seems to be targeted at the low paid, increasing the national insurance threshold, is also the only one that has a caveat: “would cost the Treasury billions”.Chris GeorgeSeaford, East Sussex |
| • For the autumn statement and beyond I would like to see a clear emphasis on the four Hs: Heathrow, Hinkley, HS2 and highways. Recent government announcements in these areas have been encouraging for the construction industry, and we need to build on this momentum to make sure we get spades in the ground as quickly as possible. | • For the autumn statement and beyond I would like to see a clear emphasis on the four Hs: Heathrow, Hinkley, HS2 and highways. Recent government announcements in these areas have been encouraging for the construction industry, and we need to build on this momentum to make sure we get spades in the ground as quickly as possible. |
| Public sector infrastructure investment not only boosts growth and productivity, it also helps the fifth H: housing. There are significant opportunities from HS2, Heathrow and highways to stimulate the level of house building the country needs in areas that would benefit the most from further development. But the private property sector is currently suffering from a lack of confidence, rather than liquidity. The biggest confidence boost that UK plc could receive is the certainty that these projects are going ahead, now. If government gets started on infrastructure, housing will surely follow.Mark Naysmith UK managing director, WSP | Public sector infrastructure investment not only boosts growth and productivity, it also helps the fifth H: housing. There are significant opportunities from HS2, Heathrow and highways to stimulate the level of house building the country needs in areas that would benefit the most from further development. But the private property sector is currently suffering from a lack of confidence, rather than liquidity. The biggest confidence boost that UK plc could receive is the certainty that these projects are going ahead, now. If government gets started on infrastructure, housing will surely follow.Mark Naysmith UK managing director, WSP |
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| • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters | • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters |